https://studiegids.vu.nl/en/courses/2023-2024/S_SOZThe Sensemaking in Organizations course constitutes the introduction to a constructivist or ‘Culture, Organization, Management (COM)’ approach to study organizations and processes of organizing from a multi-sensory and multi-species perspective. We will read and analyze academic texts, and apply them to a variety of case studies. Next to this 'textwork', we will do 'fieldwork', (literally, on a goat farm in the Amsterdam Forest) built on ample training in methods of organizational ethnography and related methods for critical organization studies.The Organizational Sensemaking course sets the stage for the Master's Culture, Organization, and Management, both theoretically and methodologically. We focus on:(1) multispecies actors’ sense-making and sense-breaking capabilities and practices in a broad variety of social and organizational settings in the context of the current turbulent global societal changes and the ecological emergency;(2) the challenge for organizational researchers to give meaning to these practices as meaning-making actors themselves.In relation to organizational actors’ attempts to make sense of everyday(dis)organizational life, we discuss concepts such as power, culture,identity, emotion, and their symbolic manifestations in (inter)actions (practices), discourse (talk and text), and materiality (artifacts). We illustrate these concepts with cases from studies in organizational change, managerial control,organizational resistance, intercultural communication, and processes of inclusion and exclusion.Next to these discussions on concepts and theories, we zoom in on ethnographic and other interpretive methods of doing organizational research in an attempt to understand these meaning-making processes in their broader organizational, societal, and ecological context.In the methods part of the course, we pay attention to(1) the craft of doing multi-sensory perception(2) the importance of reflexivity, including(3) the position (and limitations) of the researcher(4) a multimodal approach to (re)presenting data (written text, pictures, film, etc.).The course includes oral lectures, group seminars, and open question and discussion meetings. Lectures and question meetings will use digital media, while the group seminars will take place outside of the classroom, following the principles of fieldwork and wild pedagogy.Students will hand in four mandatory assignments, all of which will be assessed with pass/fail. The final assignment is a paper that will be marked (100% of the final mark).A full reading list will be presented before the start of the coursevia Canvas.Students of the Master's programme Culture, Organization, and ManagementIn this course, you cannot enroll for one of the study groups yourself, but you will be assigned by the course coordinator. The allocation will be announced via Canvas. Please note: You do have to register for the course and the other course components on VU.nl.Students are expected to read the prescribed literature before each lecture and working group. Active participation in class and projectwork is required.